British companies say business in China has become harder amid slowing economy, regulatory challenges and competition from state-owned rivals
- Forty-eight per cent of UK companies surveyed by the British Chamber of Commerce in China say business has become more difficult in 2019
- A quarter of respondents said they were treated unequally by the government, when compared to state-owned enterprises
Half of British companies in China say doing business has become harder this year, citing a slowing economy, continued regulatory challenges and unfair treatment by the government, a new survey shows. Optimism about future business in China has declined since last year.
Forty-eight per cent of UK companies in mainland China say business has become more difficult in 2019, compared to 31 per cent last year, according to the second annual survey by the British Chamber of Commerce in China released on Tuesday.
BritCham China surveyed 249 British businesses in mainland China, across a variety of sectors, with a combined annual revenue of £22 billion (US$28.9 billion).
“The uncertainty around us has driven quite a lot of that – global economic uncertainty, the slowing economy in China itself, labour costs – these are all weighing on the British business community here,” said St John Moore, chairman of BritCham China, at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. “Understandably, we want more certainty in the business environment as we look forward to the year ahead.”
The continued difficulty in accessing the Chinese market on a “level playing field” is also weighing on the confidence of British businesses in the world’s second largest economy. Over the past year Beijing has pushed to deepen its reliance on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and reduce dependence on overseas markets amid an escalating trade war with Washington.